“Kwai Chung and Sham Shui Po feel like small towns, but Chungking Mansions is the heart of the South Asian community—Indians, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, they are all here. I have a much larger customer base in this building,”
Fazil arrived in Hong Kong from Kashmir, India, in 1998 to reunite with his son, who had already settled and started a family here. Three months later, he opened his first barbershop in Kwai Chung. He eventually handed that business over to his cousins so that he could move to Chungking Mansions, where he worked as a manager at a salon on the first floor. His entrepreneurial journey continued with a second shop on Pei Ho Street in Sham Shui Po; then, in 2019, he took over another salon on the same floor in Chungking Mansions. This third shop became his permanent base, where he now works alongside his Indian colleague, Kunal. The salon also doubles as a small hub for the local sporting community—Fazil lets a friend, a cricket coach who deals in equipment, display cricket bats for sale. As a result, a neat row of upright bats now lines the salon’s front window.
“Kwai Chung and Sham Shui Po feel like small towns, but Chungking Mansions is the heart of the South Asian community—Indians, Nepalese, Bangladeshis, they are all here. I have a much larger customer base in this building,” Fazil explains. To him, Chungking Mansions is the indispensable centre for South Asians in Hong Kong, much like how World-Wide House in Central serves as a “Little Philippines.” He adds, “I’ve been in Chungking Mansions for so long that everyone around here knows me. We have a great relationship with the other shopkeepers; they all come to me for their haircuts.”
Barbering is a family legacy for Fazil, a craft passed down since his grandfather’s time. He has since shared these skills with his own son, who now runs a barbershop in Yuen Long, marking the fourth generation to uphold the family trade. Fazil’s clientele is incredibly diverse; while South Asians make up his core base, he also welcomes Europeans, Iranians, and Australians, among others. His regulars even include staff from various consulates, as well as local university staff and students. Although he doesn’t speak much Cantonese, which can make communicating with locals a challenge, he believes that quality service speaks for itself. When asked if cutting hair for different ethnicities requires different skills, he insists that a good barber should be able to master any style, regardless of nationality. Flipping through a lookbook on his desk, he points to various Western faces and hairstyles, saying confidently, “I can do this one… and this one too.” When prompted about Korean styles not found in his book, he replies without hesitation, “Of course!”
Ryan, a Californian who has lived in Hong Kong for three years, says Bollywood Salon is the only place he will go. The first time he walked past the shop, he saw Fazil’s beard and knew immediately he had found the right place for a trim. Fazil sports a “Garibaldi” beard—a thick, snow-white, and impeccably groomed style that covers his neck and looks strikingly sharp. Ryan notes, “When I’m looking for someone to shave me, the first thing I look at is that person’s own beard.” Fazil smiles at the compliment, though he is quick to clarify that his beard isn’t a fashion statement; it is a matter of faith, following the Sunnah (the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad).
Ryan first learned about Chungking Mansions through the television programmes of the late American chef and author Anthony Bourdain, and he stayed in a budget guesthouse upstairs during his very first visit. He describes the building as a “city within a city,” a self-contained world with a completely different atmosphere to the glitz of Central. Fazil agrees; he loves the vibrant tapestry of people, cultures, and the unique way the building operates. To him, the rhythm of Chungking Mansions is a familiar one, full of opportunity.
